Why I started playing the Lottery.

And then came up with a different idea for making a few million and stopped.

When I moved back to London a couple of months ago, I took to Rightmove.

I found all these amazing houses and then thought: how on earth are we going to be able to afford to live in this part of London we’ve moved to?

We’re very lucky that for now, we’re able to stay with my parents, near to where we’d like to move. But soon, for various reasons, this won’t be a viable option.

Even with a builder for a husband, who can turn a wreck into a palace, it looked like our budget wouldn’t stretch beyond a not-very-big flat without a garden.

(I acknowledge that we’re privileged to be able to buy any property, especially as the rent in this part of London is astronomical and we are in a recession.)

I realised we were left with one option:

To win the Lottery.

I remember my mum playing every Saturday when I was a kid. We’d watch the National Lottery live on Saturday nights, as the balls dropped from that huge transparent globe, to see if she’d won.

But she never did. And so I never got into it myself.

Occasionally, I’d do a scratch card for fun or when finances weren’t looking so good.

However, after realising the only way we’d be able to afford a house was by winning the Lottery, I decided to properly commit to playing it once a week.

A few weeks in, I wasn’t winning anything on the five lines of numbers I was playing (one for each member of my family; they chose their own numbers).

I decided to play on Tuesdays as well. And sometimes Wednesdays.

The app is so clever, it gives you all these other games you can waste time and money on. The algorithm sends new ‘products’ your way and soon, you’re addicted.

This is, of course, gambling.

And one of my close blood relatives was addicted to gambling (a relative who was poor) so if these things run in the blood, perhaps gambling does.

I could feel its grip on me.

Occasionally, I’d win a free lucky dip because I’d got two numbers right, but I didn’t win any pounds. And it started to feel a bit disheartening.

I’m the kind of ridiculous optimist/deluded consumer who actually thinks that if I start playing the lottery, I will win.

When I didn’t, I felt deflated.

Talking to my husband one afternoon, I said: do you know what, I don’t want to get my millions from winning the Lottery, I want to earn it from one of my books.

I said I want the paperback version of Raise your SQ to be a Sunday Times bestseller and to take off, globally, and sell millions of copies.

Not only would that change the lives of millions of readers - teaching them how to become more spiritually connected - but it would change mine, too.

It would mean I could buy a nice house in the part of London where we’d like to live, with a little garden to re-wild.

I stopped playing the Lottery.

And I’m now on a mission to work out how I can sell 2000 copies of the paperback book in one week (17-23rd May), which might then get it onto the bestseller list.

I’m thinking about how to harness the power of my online communities.

How to show people that this book truly will change their lives, if they read it.

It combines grounded coaching with some magical woo-woo rituals that take you from bored to energised; low to high; deflated to hopeful.

And I share stories of incredible, successful women who use SQ in their daily lives to feel calm, clear and enthused.

Raising my own SQ

I’ve started raising my own SQ (spiritual quotient) so that new and innovative ideas will drop in to help me with my mission.

I’m doing tarot readings and breathwork.

I’m praying.

I’ve asked [God, the Universe] for answers, guidance and support.

And I’ve stepped out into nature, slanted my face towards the sun, listened to the birds and given thanks.

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I’m grateful that we have somewhere to stay for now, that we have options, that we are free and that my children are happy.

I want a bestselling book, to continue my career as a writer and to have a big lump sum in the bank to buy a nice house with a garden.

I’m thankful for this life I get to lead.

Give thanks. Ask for what you want. Give thanks again.

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Any ideas for flogging 2000 books in a week? I am ALL ears.

Ta,

Annie x

Ps. At the time of writing this, I’d stopped playing the Lottery. But I actually got sucked back in and played again this week. Fingers crossed.